The caves of Piusa

 

 

 

She devil.

Who has the most sensitivity among animals. Frogs.
They take a second frog on the back when the other is
 tired and carries it forward. 

The Devil.

The crater.

Looking for campground.

We even got a campfire

Today we are heading for the sandstone caves of Piusa. Then we continued to the Pørguhad crater (Hell's grave). According to legend, these "graves" are a direct route to hell. Then we drove to Võru, didn't know where to stay but were really hungry so we cooked dinner in a park and then we found a "nature park" outside the big city by a lovely lake.

*Piusa Caves were created in 1922 as a quarry of quartz sand that was  used to make glass. It was quarried underground. Besides the old mining caves there are also three man-made caves in the south from the quarry. The purpose of the caves were geological observations. Piusa caves have evolved into a popular site for hibernating bats. It is the largest known hibernation colony in Eastern Europe. The caves are an important hibernation area for bats. Seven bat species have been found in these caves. They come to hibernate from distances up to 100 km while their total number here may be up to 3500 individuals.

*Craters were known already in the ancient times, this is also confirmed by their name - Hell's Grave. Formerly above Hell's grave there was a church, which sunk below ground when three ungodliness brothers entered it. After that the Hell's Grave became a place of the devils, where in the evening time everybody were afraid of going.